Decker FAQ

Here are answers to some of the questions I have received, or ones I think need to be asked.

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Q: How do the skill level, program rating, and the firmware level influence the dice rolls?
A: Basically whenever you run a program, you are making a test of your skill versus the system 
and ICE that are the target. The formula is usually something like this:

    Target # = Base Target # + (2*System Rating) + Ice Rating 
		- (Program Rating + Chip Rating + Skill)

The target number is the number you have to roll on a d20 (20 sided die) in order for the 
program to function. A 1 is always a failure, and a 20 is always a success. The base target 
number is usually 10, giving 50% chance of success. In effect, each level of 
program/skill/firmware gives +5% chance of success. However, each roll also has a success 
level which determines how effective the program was, which is measured by how high above 
the target number you rolled:
                +0..3 = 1
                +4..7 = 2
                +8..11 = 3
                +12..15 = 4
                +16..19 = 5
So, if the target number is a 10 (which is average), and you rolled a 15 (which is 5 over), 
you would have a success level of 2. For an attack program, this would mean 4 points of 
damage, because damage is success level squared. Some programs have target numbers below 10 
because they are basically easier to use.

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Q: Why is the game so hard?
A: Because I like it that way. Seriously, I originally planned this game as a cyberspace-
based Rogue-like game. I am a big Zangband fan (www.zangband.org), and anyone who has played 
this knows that the first few levels can be killers. Remember the weed-out courses your 
freshman year in college? Same idea.

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Q: Are there any cheats?
A: No, other than generous use of the load/save feature.

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Q: Why aren't there any tooltips?
A: There are now. They are enabled at the start of the game, or from the options menu. If the 
program tends to crash, disable them.

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Q: Why do the graphics suck?
A: Because I am a programmer, not an artist. I used Microsoft Paint to create most of the 
graphics, if that tells you anything.

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Q: Can I contribute to the game?
A: Yes. See the source code area for details.

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